The Treaty of Lisbon: amendments to the Treaty - Parliament PDF
Preview The Treaty of Lisbon: amendments to the Treaty - Parliament
The Treaty of Lisbon: RESEARCH PAPER 07/86 6 DECEMBER 2007 amendments to the Treaty establishing the European Community The Lisbon Treaty amending the present EC and EU Treaties was concluded under the Portuguese European Union Presidency on 19 October 2007 by EU Member State governments meeting as an informal European Council. This reform came about as a result of the perceived need for institutional amendments to cope with successive EU enlargements. It aimed to resolve the constitutional reform process that had been stalled since France and the Netherlands voted against the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe in 2005. The Treaty of Lisbon, initially known as the Reform Treaty, amends the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC). The former retains its title, while the latter becomes the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TFEU contains Articles on institutional procedures and the policies in which the Union will have a role, including present Third Pillar areas in which the EC currently has little involvement. Subject specialists HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY Recent Library Research Papers include: List of 15 most recent RPs 07/71 Unemployment by Constituency, September 2007 17.10.07 07/72 The 'Governance of Britain' Green Paper 26.10.07 07/73 Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill Committee 02.11.07 Stage Report 07/74 Economic Indicators, November 2007 06.11.07 07/75 Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill 09.11.07 07/76 Unemployment by Constituency, October 2007 14.11.07 07/77 The European Communities (Finance) Bill [Bill 2 of 2007-08] 15.11.07 07/78 Sale of Student Loans Bill 15.11.07 07/79 Housing and Regeneration Bill [Bill 8 of 2007-08] 22.11.07 07/80 The EU Reform Treaty: amendments to the 'Treaty on 22.11.07 European Union' 07/81 Health and Social Care Bill 22.11.07 07/82 House of Lords - developments since January 2004 03.12.07 07/83 Economic Indicators, December 2007 04.12.07 07/84 Planning Bill [Bill 11 of 2007-08] 06.12.07 07/85 Crossrail Bill: Committee Stage Report [Bill 5 of 2007-08] 06.12.07 Research Papers are available as PDF files: • to members of the general public on the Parliamentary web site, URL: http://www.parliament.uk • within Parliament to users of the Parliamentary Intranet, URL: http://hcl1.hclibrary.parliament.uk Library Research Papers are compiled for the benefit of Members of Parliament and their personal staff. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff but cannot advise members of the general public. We welcome comments on our papers; these should be sent to the Research Publications Officer, Room 407, 1 Derby Gate, London, SW1A 2DG or e-mailed to [email protected] ISSN 1368-8456 Summary of main points An Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) opened under the Portuguese EU Presidency in July 2007 to negotiate amendments to the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC, or Treaty of Rome). The IGC based its discussions on a mandate drawn up by the preceding German Presidency and agreed by the European Council in Berlin in June 2007. A set of texts was published on the Europa website on 23 July and 5 October 2007. The IGC concluded the text at the informal European Council in Lisbon on 18 October 2007, which was then corrected by EU jurist-linguists. The final Treaty of Lisbon text will be signed at the European Council on 13 December 2007. A few days before the Lisbon summit outstanding issues included the British Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) opt-out, Polish demands for a voting compromise, Italian views on the number of seats in the European Parliament, Austrian concerns about an influx of foreign students and Bulgarian complaints about the spelling of the word 'euro'. Under the Lisbon Treaty most of the text of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe concluded in 2004 (referred to here as the Constitution) will be incorporated as amendments to the existing Treaties, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC), with certain modifications, protocols, annexes and declarations to take account of the specific concerns of individual Member States. These concerns centred in particular on the competences of the EU and the Member States and their delimitation, the specific nature of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the enhanced role of national parliaments in EU decision-making processes, the treatment of the EU Charter of Rights and the mechanism in police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters to allow a group of Member States to proceed in some areas, while others do not participate. The final text of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community is contained in CIG 14/07, 3 December 2007 which is available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/cg00014.en07.pdf. The Final Act, with Declarations, is in CIG 15/07, at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/cg00015.en07.pdf. The main features of the Lisbon Treaty are outlined below. This paper considers only those which are amendments to the TEC. Amendments to the TEU are considered in Research paper 07/80, The EU Reform Treaty: amendments to the Treaty on European Union, 22 November 2007,1 although the numbering of Articles in the TEU has been amended since this paper was published. 1 Available at http://hcl1.hclibrary.parliament.uk/rp2007/rp07-080.pdf • Name and status: In the renamed TEC, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), all references to the European Community are removed, reflecting the collapse of the ‘pillar structure’ established in 1992. • Functions of the EU: the Treaty will be amended to include the provisions of the 2004 Constitution on: - areas of competence - the scope of qualified majority voting, mainly through the Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP – codecision): the Constitution moved 15 Articles from unanimous voting to QMV and introduced 24 new Articles with QMV. - the scope of co-decision with the European Parliament - distinctions between legislative and non-legislative acts - a ‘solidarity clause’ - improvements to the governance of the eurozone - specific provisions on individual policies - provisions on own resources, the multi-annual financial framework of the EU and the EU’s budgetary procedure - provisions on JHA matters: changes to the voting system and a right of veto. • Amendments to the 2004 Constitution: a number of modifications of the text of the Constitution are made by insertions into the ‘Functions Treaty’, including: - specific language on the definition of Member State and EU competences - amendment of the Treaty base on diplomatic and consular protection to provide for coordination and cooperation measures - provision to halt measures on the portability of social security benefits if the European Council fails to act within four months - a Protocol with interpretative provisions “on services of general economic interest” (i.e. state-provided social services) - specific language to enable some Member States to proceed with measures on police and judicial cooperation while others do not participate - an extension of the UK’s 1997 opt-out on Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) issues to judicial cooperation in criminal matters and police cooperation - a role for national parliaments in applying a passerelle clause on judicial cooperation in civil matters relating to family law - a specific reference to energy supply solidarity between Member States - a restriction on European space policy - specific authorisation to the EU to take action to combat climate change at international level - retention of Article 308 TEC (the ‘catch-all’ clause), but with a provision stipulating that it may not apply to the CFSP. • Charter of Fundamental Rights: this will have “legally binding value”, though it will not be reproduced in the Treaties. • National Parliaments: a new article will set out the role of national parliaments in the EU, including a ‘yellow card’ subsidiarity check for national parliaments. • Institutional changes - From 2014, there will no longer be a Commissioner to represent every Member State, but two-thirds the number of States - The European Council will be established as an EU Institution, with a permanent Presidency not connected to the rotation of Member State presidencies of the Council of Ministers - The Council will move towards 18-month “team Presidencies” - The voting system in the Council as agreed by the Treaty of Nice continues to apply until 1 November 2014, whereupon the double majority voting system in the Constitution will apply (a qualified majority will require 55% of votes in the Council representing 65% or more of the EU’s population). In addition, between 1 November 2014 and 31 March 2017, any Member State can request a return to the Nice voting rules; between 1 November 2014 and 31 March 2017, if Member States, representing 75% of the Council votes or 75% of the population needed to constitute a blocking minority in the Council, signify their opposition to a proposal, a final vote on the proposal may be deferred in an attempt to seek agreement; from 1 April 2017 this final vote can be deferred if 55% of a blocking minority (either in votes or in population) signifies its opposition. • EU Foreign Policy: the title of ‘Union Minister for Foreign Affairs’ (i.e. the person discharging the functions of the present External Relations Commissioner and CFSP High Representative) will be changed to ‘High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy’. • External actions and CFSP: Constitution provisions on the European External Action Service and structured cooperation in defence policy are retained, but a Declaration will underline the existing responsibilities of Member States for the formulation and conduct of foreign policy and representation in international organisations. CFSP will remain intergovernmental in nature with decisions taken by unanimity. • Enhanced co-operation: enhanced co-operation actions can be launched with a minimum of nine Member States. • Legal personality: the EU will have legal personality, though a Declaration will confirm that it cannot act beyond the competences conferred by Member States. • Voluntary withdrawal from the Union: the Constitution article on voluntary withdrawal from the EU remains. • Treaty revision: Constitution provisions for revising the Treaties without recourse to an IGC will be recast in one article, which will now also clarify that Treaty revision can reduce the competences conferred on the EU as well as increase them. • EU Accession: Conditions for accession to the EU will be amended by the addition of text recalling the “conditions of eligibility agreed upon by the European Council” (i.e. the so-called Copenhagen Criteria). The amendments agreed at Lisbon will be signed on 13 December 2007 and submitted to Member States for ratification in accordance with each State’s constitutional requirements, with the aim of coming into force before the European Parliament elections in June 2009. The following acronyms are used: EU European Union EC European Community TEU Treaty on European Union TEC Treaty Establishing the European Community IGC Intergovernmental Conference RT Reform Treaty OLP Ordinary Legislative Procedure (co-decision) EP European Parliament ECJ European Court of Justice JHA Justice and Home Affairs CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy ESDP European Security and Defence Policy ECB European Central Bank ESC European Scrutiny Committee FAC Foreign Affairs Committee New and amended Treaty Articles are shown in bold, while corresponding Articles from the 2004 Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe are given in brackets. CONTENTS I Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 11 A. Union Competence 11 1. Defining competences 11 2. Exclusive competence 13 3. Shared competence 17 4. Supporting, coordinating or complementary action 18 B. Provisions having general application 19 C. Non-discrimination and citizenship 23 D. Community policies and internal actions 26 1. Internal Market 26 2. Agriculture and fisheries 27 3. Free movement of persons, services and capital 29 E. Area of freedom, security and justice 31 1. General provisions 33 2. Border checks, asylum and immigration 34 3. Judicial cooperation in civil matters 38 4. Judicial cooperation in criminal matters 38 5. Approximation of criminal law 41 6. Crime prevention 42 7. Eurojust 42 8. European public prosecutor 45 9. Police cooperation 48 10. Opt-ins and opt-outs 52 F. Transport 56 G. Competition, taxation and approximation of laws 57 1. Competition 57 2. Taxation 60 H. Economic and Monetary Policy 61 I. Employment and Social policies 64 J. Sport, culture and public health 67 1. Sport 67 2. Culture 68 3. Public health 68 K. Consumer Protection 70 L. Industry; least favoured regions, 72 M. Research, technology, space 72 N. The Environment and Energy 73 O. Tourism; civil protection; overseas countries and territories 75 1. Tourism 75 2. Civil protection 75 3. Association of the overseas countries and territories 77 P. External Action (other than CFSP) 77 1. General provisions 77 2. Common Commercial Policy 77 3. Cooperation with Third Countries and Humanitarian Aid, 78 4. Union delegations and relations with international organisations and third countries 81 5. Solidarity 81 Q. The Union Institutions 82 1. European Parliament 82 2. European Council 83 3. Council 83 4. Commission 88 5. Court of Justice 88 6. European Central Bank 95 7. Court of Auditors 95 R. Legal Acts of the Union and their adoption procedures 95 S. Advisory bodies: Committee of the Regions, Economic and Social Committee, European Investment Bank 102 T. The Union’s Annual Budget 103 1. Own resources 103 2. Procedure for the adoption of the budget 103 3. Implementation of the Budget and Discharge 104 4. Common Financial Provisions 104 5. Combating fraud 105 U. Enhanced Cooperation 105 V. General and final provisions 107 1. General Provisions 108 2. Final Provisions 113
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